Catherine Bennett in CiF:
How difficult was it for liberals, back in the 60s, to support the work of DH Lawrence against the director of public prosecutions, or, as late as the 1980s, Michael Bogdanov's against Mary Whitehouse (who had heard – without actually seeing the play herself – that a penis could be glimpsed in performances of The Romans in Britain)?Some people would say it's a bit of a no-brainer, Catherine...
Today, on the other hand, the conscientious supporter of free expression finds herself championing the rights of the disc jockey Michael Savage.
8 comments:
I never cease to be amazed by this attitude whenever I discuss free speech at mine. It happened again recently. You either support free speech or you don't - there is no false dichotomy involved. If you do, you support it for everyone no matter how much you disagree, no matter how offensive, wrong headed or repugnant.
As you say, a no brainer. Surprising how few brains there are out there...
The campaign to stop Rod Liddle may as well be retitled the campaign against free speech ....How would Mr Hundal feel if we were to start a stop Sunny writing for cif campaign? Its the politics of the schoolyard ...
Chortle...
The meaning of 'free speech' has been redefined; free speech is now the freedom to express opinions that Guardian readers approve of.
Come and join my pro-Liddle group - Alexander Lebedev himself actually joined it himself a few days ago and we are definitely having way more fun than the anti-group is...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=277263444991
And also that article has the best comment ever on CIF:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/17/online-censors-rod-liddle-twitter?showallcomments=true#CommentKey:da750b75-b502-4ec0-90cb-2828a6369766
"...that article has the best comment ever on CIF"
Oh, brilliant! And very true...
"Suspected misogynists and homophobes, careless climate change sceptics and opponents of mass immigration"
Such nice company she puts us with, surprised she did not include the pedos.
That cif link was great
"Left-wingers and wacky sect-members, when they form mobs, treat dissidents in the same way:- they both regard dissident opinion as a form of blasphemy, because both groups have invested the same religious passion in their beliefs.
Right-wing mobs tend rather to regard dissident opinion as treasonous, and it's propagators as traitors. Right wing mobs cry the beloved country, and advocate all sorts of cruel punishments for those who are seen to be betraying their homeland".
Spot on, both sides.
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